Foot powder applicator



April 28, 1964 RICH FOOT POWDER APPLICATOR Filed March l3, 1961 UnitedStates Patent 3,130,726 F001 POWDER APPHCATOR Elm Rich, 7260 SunsetBlvd, Suite 202, Los Angeles 46, Caiif. Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No.95,120 Claims. (Cl. 128-265) The present invention relates generally toa device for dispensing a comminuted or powdery substance and applyingit to a desired surface, and more particularly describes an applicatoractuated by the user for spraying foot powder upon the users foot.

In the preferred form of the invention hereinafter described andillustrated, the operative parts of the invention are contained within asuitable box constituting a housing for such parts. Desirably, suchhousing may be in the form of a wooden box provided with a removablecover so that the top may be opened during use. Normally the box restsupon the floor in use. Within the box and desirably mounted on thebottom thereof is a chamber defined by walls of a flexible, resilientmaterial such as rubber or rubber substitute. The chamber includes anelongated central section having a length and width a little greaterthan the corresponding dimensions of the foot of the user. In additionto the central section, the chamber also includes a pair of laterallyspaced flank sections extending curvilinearly upwardly within thehousing box, as well as a front upper section extending curvilinearlyupwardly and slightly rearwardly. The upper wall of the central sectionas well as the concave inner walls of the flank sections and the frontupper section are all provided with a number of spaced perforations orsmall apertures.

In the use of the device, a quantity of foot powder or similar materialto be sprayingly applied to the foot is poured into the chamber throughan enlarged opening in the rear portion of the central section upperwall. The powder is then distributed throughout the interior of thechamber as by shaking the box slightly. When, now, a user inserts hisfoot into the pocket formed by the central section, the flank sectionsand the front upper section and moves his heel downwardly over theenlarged opening in the central section upper wall, the continueddownward movement of the heel causes powder to be blown through theperforated apertures above mentioned, directed at the foot resting uponthe central section of the chamber.

The preferred form of the invention also includes a smaller chamberformed within the first chamber just mentioned, the second chamber beinglikewise made of wall portions of rubber or rubber substitute, beingflexible and resilient. The inner or second chamber similarly has anopening formed in its upper wall generally in vertical alignment beneaththe opening of the central section upper wall of the first chamber. Theinner chamber includes communicating channels terminating in a pair ofvertically spaced outlet members, desirably provided with a perforatedcover of suitable material, disposed above and beneath the positionassumed by the toes of the user. As in the case of the first chamber,foot powder or the like is introduced into the interior of the innerchamber also, and downward pressure of the heel of the user closes theenlarged opening in the inner chamber and forces powder outwardlythrough the outlet members so that the toes of the user receive aspecially directed, relatively heavy application of foot powder.

Flexible shield means are desirably provided within the housing boxfitting loosely about the ankle of the user so that the possibility ofpowder being sprayed outwardly of the box is minimized and virtuallyeliminated. Desirably, the shield means take the form of a number ofinwardly directed flexible leaves made of rubber or the f ce like, theirinner edges forming an ankle-receiving opening generally aligned abovethe enlarged openings of the chambers previously described.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide a novel foot powder applicator actuated by the individual tospray a quantity of powder upon the foot within a relatively enclosedspace. Other objects are to provide such a device having a chamberformed of flexible, resilient material and provided with an enlargedopening which may be sealed or blocked by the heel of the user duringuse, the inner wall of such chamber being perforated with a multiplicityof small apertures through which powder is sprayed; to provide such adevice wherein a second chamber is contained within the first chamberand similarly provided with an enlarged opening closable by the heel ofthe user during use, such inner chamber including channel meansterminating in a pair of vertically disposed outlets adapted to spraypowder from within such inner chamber onto a selected portion of thebody of the user; to provide such a device including flexible means forpreventing spraying or scattering of the powder outwardly of the device;and for allied objects and purposes as will be understood from a studyof the following description of a preferred embodiment of the inventiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a foot powder applicatorembodying the present invention, the upper cover being shown in dottedoutline in closed position and being fragmentarily shown in full linesin open position, the users foot and ankle being shown in dotted outlinein its initial position, and the flexible upper walls of both chambersbeing shown in dotted outline in their positions assumed when the usersheel is moved downwardly for actuation of the applicator.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the broken line 11-11 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inner chamber of the actuator,clarifying the construction of it and its vertically spaced outletopenings.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a boxindicated generally at 10 constituting the housing for the device of thepresent invention. The box may be made of wood or similar material andincludes a rear wall 12 at the upper end of which a cover 14 is hingedlyattached at 16. Within the housing 10 means are provided forming a largechamber indicated generally at 20 and including a central section havingan upper wall 22; which is perforated with a number of spaced apertures24 extending therethrough. The central section of the chamber extendsvirtually the length of the housing 10 and is long enough to accommodatethe length of the foot of the user, the foot being indicated generallyat 30 and being shown in dotted outline in FIG. 1. In addition to thecentral section 20, the chamber also includes a pair of laterally spacedflank sections, a left flank section being indicated generally at 32 anda right flank section being indicated generally at 34 in FIG. 2. Each ofthe flank sections is in communication with the central section 20 andextends generally curvilinearly upwardly therefrom as best seen in FIG.2. The inner walls 36 and 38 respectively defining the flank sectionsare perforated with a large number of spaced apertures extendingtherethrough in a manner similar to the apertures 24 formed in the upperwall 22 previously described, the apertures being indicated at 4th and42 respectively. Forwardly of the central section 20 the chamber alsoincludes a front upper section indicated generally at 50 and comprisinga portion 52 extending generally arcuately upwardly from the end of thecentral section and an overlying portion 54 which may projectapproximately half the length of the foot rearwardly, the portion 54being spaced substantially above the central section 26 so that suchportion, together with the flank sections 32 and 34 form with thecentral section 20 a pocket within which to loosely receive the foot ofthe user. The inner walls 56 and 58 respectively of the portions 52 and54 are perforated with a large number of spaced apertures 60 and 62respectively communicating the interior of the chamber with the pocket.

The upper wall 22 of the central section 2t? is provided in its rearpart with an enlarged opening 64-, desirably circular in form, which iseffectively blocked or closed by the heel 66 of the user when his footis inserted in the pocket. Keeping in mind that the upper wall 22defining the central section 26 of the chamber is flexible andresilient, it will be seen that downward movement of the users heel 66into the position indicated in FIG. 1 in dotted outline moves the upperWall downwardly, thereby diminishing the internal volume of the chamber.With foot powder or other comminuted material within such chamber, thedownward movement just described causes the powder to be expelled orsprayed through the apertures 24 of the central section, 4 0 and 42 ofthe flank sections and 6t and 62 of the front upper section. Thus, thepowder is sprayed upon the foot in the pocket.

It may be desirable that a selected portion of the foot receive anadditional supply of sprayed powder or that such powder be sprayedthereon with additional force. Means are provided in accordance with thepres ent invention for accomplishing this and in the presentillustrative embodiment of the invention such means are exemplariiyshown as including an inner chamber contained within the main chamberheretofore described The preferred configuration of the inner chamberwill be best understood by reference first to FIG. 4. As there appears,the inner chamber includes a main section indicated generally at 76having an upper wall 72 of flexible material and provided in its rearportion with an enlarged opening 74. Projecting forwardly from the mainsection 70, there is a pair of laterally spaced channels 76 and '78which curve upwardly and merge in a junction portion 8t? (see FIG. 1)and the thus combined channels terminate upwardly in an outlet opening82 desirably covered by a perforated or foraminous screen or the like84. Between the two channels 76 and 78 and projecting forwardly from themain section 70 is a third channel 36 in communication with the mainsection, and this latter-named channel continues forwardly into anupwardly curved portion 83 which continues upwardly and rearwardly toterminate in an enlarged portion 90 provided with a downwardly directedopening 92 (see FIG. 2) covered by a perforated or foraminous screen 94similar to screen 84 previously described, screen di being spaced abovescreen 84 and in vertical alignment therewith. Desirably, the loweroutlet opening 82 and its screen 84 are received in an opening formed inthe upper wall 22 of the main chamber central section 29, the screenbeing substantially flush with such upper wall. Similarly, the upperoutlet opening 92 and its associated screen 94 are received in anopening formed in the inner wall 58 previously referred to and desirablythe parts are in flush alignment as seen in FIG. 1. The enlarged opening74 of the inner chamber is itself in substantial vertical alignmentbeneath the opening 64 formed in the upper wall 22 of the main chamber.

With reference again to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the downwardmovement of the users heel 66 previously referred to causes to movedownwardly not only the upper wall 22 of the main chamber but also theupper wall 72 of the inner chamber, if the heel is pressed far enoughdownwardly. Moreover, it is to be noted that the opening '74 will beeffectively sealed or blocked by the users heel, so that the downwardmovement of the heel causes a compression of the air including powderdistributed therethrough within the inner chamber and such powdery airis therefore expelled through the screens 84 and 94 to deliver anadditional supply of foot powder to the toes of the user placed betweenthe screens as seen in FIG. 1.

In order to prevent powder from being blown outwardly of the applicatorproper, there may be provided shield means indicated generally at 109 inFIGS. 1 and 3. The shield is made of a flexible resilient material suchas rubber or a rubber substitute and projects generally apwardly fromthe main chamber. By preference the shield 1% has provided therein anumber of slits 102 extending inwardly from a central opening 104adapted to receive the users foot and to cling closely to the usersankle when the foot is in place. Thus the shield 100, in the areaadjacent the ankle proper, includes in effect a number of flexibleleaves which tend to cling closely to the ankle and thereby minimize theexpulsion of powder-laden air upwardly past the angle.

Accordingly, it will be seen that there is here provided a foot powderapplicator easily actuated by the user and economically made of rubberor similar materials in the main. Modifications and changes from theparticular exemplary embodiment of the invention hereinabove .describedand shown may occur to those skilled in the art and all suchmodifications and changes not departing from the spirit of the inventionare intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A foot-actuated applicator for foot powder or the like comprising:

means forming a chamber including a longitudinally extending centralsection provided with a horizontally disposed upper wall having aresilient rear portion provided with a relatively large opening and apair of upwardly turned flank sections on opposite sides of the centralsection and in communication therewith, the front portion of the chamberforming means being curved upwardly and rearwardly to form an uppersection spaced above the forward portion of the central section and incommunication therewith, the upper wall of the central section, theinwardly facing walls of the flank sections and the concave inner walland lower wall of the upper section being perforated by a plurality ofrelatively small apertures, said flank sections and upper sectionincluding imperforate outer walls spaced outwardly from said inwardlyfacing walls and from said concave inner wall and lower wallrespectively;

and means forming a second chamber lying principally Within said firstchamber, the upper wall of the second chamber including a resilientportion having a relatively large opening spaced beneath said firstnamed large opening, said second chamber forming means including aforwardly projecting channel terminating in an upwardly directedhorizontally disposed opening through the central section upper wall,and a second channel projecting forwardly, then upwardly and thenrearwardly and terminating in a downwardly directed horizontallydisposed opening through said upper section lower Wall and spaced abovethe opening of the first channel.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the second chamberforming means includes a third forwardly projecting channel spaced fromthe first named channel and merging therewith in a junction portionadjacent said upwardly directed horizontally disposed opening.

3. A foot-actuated applicator for foot powder or the like comprising:

means forming a chamber including a longitudinally extending centralsection provided with a horizontally disposed upper wall having aresilient rear portion provided with a relatively large upwardly facingopening blockable by a users heel extending thereacross and a pair ofupwardly turned flank sections on opposite sides of the central sectionand in communication therewith, said flank sections including inwardlyfacing walls perforated by a plurality of relatively small apertures andirnperfortate outer walls spaced outwardly therefrom;

and second chamber forming means disposed within said first chamber andhaving a resilient upper wall provided with an enlarged opening disposedbeneath the first named enlarged opening, and a channel terminating in ahorizontally disposed upwardly facing opening through said centralsection upper wall substantially forward of said enlarged openings.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said first named chamberincludes a front upper section in communication with the central sectionand comprising an arcuately upwardly extending portion and a portionoverlying the front part of the central section and spaced thereabove-to receive therebetween the front part of the users foot, saidoverlying portion including a lower wall perforated by a plurality ofapertures substantially smaller than said enlarged opening and animperforate upper wall spaced from said perforated lower wall.

5. A foot-actuated applicator for foot powder of the like comprising:

means forming a powder-containing chamber having a generally horizontalupper wall shaped to underlie a users foot and including a resilientheel-receiving rear portion provided with an upwardly facing openingblockable by the bottom of the users heel extending thereacross,

said chamber including a central section bounded upwardly by said upperwall and another section extending curvilinearly upwardly therefrom andin communication therewith, including an upwardly facing wall perforatedby a plurality of apertures substantially smaller than said opening andan imperforate outer wall spaced from said inwardly facing wall.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said chamber includes apair of flank sections, one constituting said other section, incommunication with the central section and extending curvilinearlylaterally and upwardly from opposite sides thereof, the flank sectionsincluding concave inner walls perforated by a plurality of aperturessubstantially smaller than said opening and irnperforate outer wallsspaced outwardly from said concave inner walls.

7. The invention as stated in claim 5 wherein said chamber also includesa front upper section in communication with said central section andcomprising an arcuately upwardly extending portion and a portionoverlying the front part of the users foot, the overlying portionincluding a lower wall perforated by a plurality of aperturessubstantially smaller than said opening and an imperforate upper Wallspaced from said overlying portion lower wall.

8. The invention as stated in claim 5 wherein said other sectionconstitutes a front upper section in communication with said centralsection and comprising an arcuately upwardly extending portion and aportion overlying the front part of the central section and spacedthereabove to receive therebetween the front part of the users foot, theoverlying portion including a lower wall perforated by a plurality ofapertures substantially smaller than said opening and an imperforateupper wall spaced outwardly from said overlying portion lower wall.

9. The invention as stated in claim 8 including second chamber formingmeans disposed within said first chamber and having a resilientgenerally horizontal upper wall provided with an upwardly facing openingspaced beneath said first named opening, said second chamber including achannel projecting forwardly, then upwardly and then rearwardly andterminating in a downwardly directed opening through the lower wall ofsaid overlying portion substantially forward of the first two namedopenings.

10. The invention as stated in claim 5 including second chamber formingmeans disposed within said first chamber and having a resilientgenerally horizontal upper wall provided with an upwardly facing openingspaced beneath said first named opening, said second chamber including aforwardly extending channel terminating in an upwardly directed openingthrough the upper wall of the first chamber forming means substantiallyforward of the first two named openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A FOOT-ACTUATED APPLICATOR FOR FOOT POWDER OR THE LIKE COMPRISING: MEANS FORMING A CHAMBER INCLUDING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CENTRAL SECTION PROVIDED WITH A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED UPPER WALL HAVING A RESILIENT REAR PORTION PROVIDED WITH A RELATIVELY LARGE OPENING AND A PAIR OF UPWARDLY TURNED FLANK SECTIONS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CENTRAL SECTION AND IN COMMUNICATION THEREWITH, THE FRONT PORTION OF THE CHAMBER FORMING MEANS BEING CURVED UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY TO FORM AN UPPER SECTION SPACED ABOVE THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE CENTRAL SECTION AND IN COMMUNICATION THEREWITH, THE UPPER WALL OF THE CENTRAL SECTION, THE INWARDLY FACING WALLS OF THE FLANK SECTIONS AND THE CONCAVE INNER WALL AND LOWER WALL OF THE UPPER SECTION BEING PERFORATED BY A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY SMALL APERTURES, SAID FLANK SECTIONS AND UPPER SECTION INCLUDING IMPERFORATE OUTER WALLS SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM SAID INWARDLY FACING WALLS AND FROM SAID CONCAVE INNER WALL AND LOWER WALL RESPECTIVELY; 